BILL HALEY AND THE COMETS

Bill Haley's Comets, of "Rock Around The Clock" fame, tour with Band Leader Al Rappa, "The Original Walking Bass Man."
Al has been a member of the band since 1956, and can be seen in films and heard on record albums with Bill Haley.

Audiences go wild over Al’s musical antics as he sings and plays right to the crowd.

In a typical show, spectators are on their feet, singing, dancing and chasing after the band leader.

“He is adored everywhere we go. This man is rock and roll,” relates John Melinchock, lead guitarist and singer, who is one of Al’s sidemen. “He goes out into the audience when we do ‘Saints Rock and Roll,’ and the crowd follows him in a line around the theater.”

Al Rappa sang and played bass, organ and trumpet with many notable Philadelphia bands before joining the Comets. He also appeared as a one-man show.

Bill Haley called on Al to play bass on an instrumental album for Decca in 1956. Two cuts — "Joey's Song" and "Skokiaan" — became hits, and Al began his long association with Bill Haley’s Comets.

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As Bill Haley's Comets toured through England, Germany, Sweden, Mexico and Canada, Al created his famous upright bass act. Audiences delighted in seeing him climb up the neck of the instrument, throw it around and take the sax player for a ride on it — all without missing a note.